“This is the civil rights movement of our times.” “We are bleeding to death.” “This is a public safety issue.” These comments were spoken by members of Supervisor Dave Cortese’s contingent that rode up to Sacramento yesterday to make a bold statement about the lack of funding for public education.

When I ran for city council I was asked many times, “What are you going to do about the schools?” Unlike Chicago or New York, where the care of the schools falls under city government, San Jose has multiple school districts that have separate elected officials that are responsible for the care of the schools, making the City of San Jose and the school districts completely separate.

San Jose Inside’s weekly open forum is a place where visitors are invited to suggest topics for discussion. What’s on your mind?

When news broke of a 27-year-old Vietnamese man being shot and killed at his home by a San Jose police officer, the pain of the tragedy in the local community was amplified by a gut-wrenching and unexpected feeling—familiarity.

While questions are still being asked after the May 10 shooting of Daniel Pham, the basic fact pattern that has been disclosed by the San Jose Police Department is sadly reminiscent of a 2003 incident involving a young Vietnamese mother, Cau Bich Tran, who was shot by San Jose police in her home.

The California Supreme Court has upheld Proposition 8 by a 6-1 vote, taking away the rights of gay people to marry in California. But interestingly, the court left a few loopholes.

A guest analysis by San Jose’s OutNow magazine.

Hopefully, we all took a moment yesterday to honor those who have fallen while serving under our nation’s flag. However, I wonder how many of our public school students can actually tell us what the meaning and significance of Memorial Day is? US History is too often a dreaded subject in the nation’s schools.

Memorial Day is a day when we commemorate those who died serving in our military. For the past 15 years, the City of San Jose has recognized our police officers at an annual Police Memorial Ceremony. This started in 1995 under Mayor Susan Hammer. The event has grown from a small event to one that draws many.

In San Jose Inside’s weekly open forum, the site’s users set the agenda, and opinions on any issue of local interest are welcome.

By Stett Holbrook
Walking down South First Street in San Jose recently, I was thoroughly unsurprised to see that Asqew Grill called it quits last month. The 200 S. First St. location is something of a doomed corner. Zyng Noodles also occupied that space and failed as well. I don’t know the details of why Asqew left, but I wonder if part of the reason was that the chain restaurant simply didn’t resonate with downtown diners.

This is my last post for San Jose Inside. I’m looking to start my own site in a couple of months (please stay tuned). A quick note of thanks to Jack Van Zandt and to Eric Johnson. I hope that you enjoy my final post.

When I was a kid growing up in San Jose, the neighborhood park was constantly tended to. Every Summer, there was a recreational leader who organized activities and coached the park’s baseball team. Fast forward to today, where you’ll find the park restrooms closed on weekdays, and you’re lucky if the City sends someone to mow the weeds once a month. In his letter to shareholders, Google co-founder Sergey Brin wrote, “I am optimistic about the future, because I believe that scarcity breeds clarity.” I hope that the scarcity that we all now face will finally bring clarity to San Jose.

On Tuesday we went to the polls
To backfill a big budget hole
But a long, proud tradition
Of voter suspicion
Has left our fair state on the dole
              Traci Hukill

“So let us work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions. Let’s reduce unwanted pregnancies…” stated President Obama at the Notre Dame University commencement on Saturday, May 16. Since I wholeheartedly agree with the espoused goal, I felt compelled to write on the importance of a high-quality sex education program in our schools as a means to assist us in reaching the objective. It is my hope that we can all find common ground on this issue.

Instead of writing a blog this week I spent my time preparing a survey for you about the budget deficit facing the city of San Jose. The link below will allow you to get a glimpse of some the decisions that must be made.

It’s San Jose Inside’s weekly open forum. Any opinion on any topic of local interest is welcome.

As you read this, downtown San Jose is in the throngs of a new enterprise called Left Coast Live. This is, perhaps, the purest example of what happens when a bunch of people, instead of sitting around and complaining, actually stand up and do something.

I walked into the press conference announcing the lineup of this year’s San Jose Mariachi and Mexican Heritage Festival wondering how it would be possible to match last year’s excellent presentations. I needn’t have worried about it. Festival director and Mexican Heritage CEO Marcela Davison Aviles and the festival’s artistic director, Linda Ronstadt, have managed to exceed even the highest of expectations created by the 2008 festival.